The End
by Kirby12
Summary: Sarah sees the Goblin King in her yard one night. He beckons to her...but what exactly does he want?
1. Decisions

**Sarah sighed as she glanced out the window. Grabbing the dishtowel off the counter she dried her soapy hands. Her gaze never left the scene before her. Outside in her yard, cast in an eerie glow from her tiny yard lights, the Goblin King sat on her glider swing, feet propped up across from him. He was sitting there like he owned the place. She'd noticed him there, just after sundown, but she hoped that if she ignored him he would go away. He hadn't. But he also hadn't moved from the spot, or tried to get in or anything. To be down right honest Sarah's curiosity was piqued. What was he up to? Sarah was distracted from her thoughts at the fluttering of his hair in the breeze. She noticed that he seemed to be looking up at her. When he smiled she knew he was. He took his feet down and motioned for her to join him. **

**Sarah continued to peer out the window at him, she glanced at the bench and then to his face, he was still smiling. Yet the smile didn't look threatening, nothing like what she remembered from the Labyrinth. Was he acting back then, or was he acting now? She wasn't sure; he was after all a master of illusion. His smile widened when she nodded sharply. She would go and see what he wanted. Moving away from the sink, and the window, Sarah went to the hall closet to get her jacket. Her heart was beating fast with fear as she pulled it on and made her way to the door. She stopped when her hand touched the cool metal of the deadbolt. Was she just tempting fate going out there? Was she tempting fate if she didn't? With a deciding grunt Sarah pulled the bolt back. He had no power over her, to forget that would be the end. Stepping out into the cool night air, Sarah pulled the door shut behind her. She wouldn't forget.**


	2. Absence of familiar things

**He rose to meet her when she came towards the swing. She stopped a few feet away; he regarded her with one of his classic bored expressions. "Jareth." Sarah said, not even bothering with his title. He was on her turf now, here she was queen. Or so she thought. **

**"Your Majesty." He said, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he gave her a mock bow. A look of surprise crossed Sarah's features before a steely look settled into her dark eyes. He'd been reading her mind. **

**"Stay out of here." Sarah snapped, tapping her temple lightly. "What I think is my business, and I was stupid to think you had changed." Sarah was boiling with rage inside, his smile had been false and she'd been a fool. She turned on her heel and left. She was almost three steps away when she was stopped. Jareth's hand gripped her arm just above the elbow. She spun, coming face to face with her old one time nemesis, her arm still gripped tightly in his hand. She studied his face as best she could in the dim light radiated by the yard lights. He was exactly as she remembered, hair askew, those unsettling eyes, and his pale skin made him almost glow in the darkness. Her eyes roamed over his face, he said nothing, something was different, something was wrong. "Let go of me." She whispered. **

**"As you wish." Jareth's voice was sharp and harsh in the air. He released her at once. Sarah stepped back and looked him over from head to toe. She squinted in the dim light trying to figure out what was different about him. It was the breeze rustling his hair that made her realize what was off. **

**"No glitter." Sarah said it almost accusingly; last time they met every time he appeared there was glitter flying around everywhere. **

**"No glitter," his cultured voice lit back, "no glitter because no magic." He smiled to himself; she was a sharp one, eyes like a hawk.**


	3. Out with It

**Sarah stared, her mouth was open, a look of complete shock on her face. Had he just said that he had no magic?? Sarah didn't believe it. She pinched herself, now sure she was dreaming; she must have fallen asleep again while watching Saturday Night Live. She knew she wasn't dreaming when Jareth's hand pulled her pinching fingers away from her skin. He rubbed his gloved fingers over the small welt she had created on her hand. **

**"Don't harm yourself at my expense Sarah, I am quite real. And this isn't a dream, I assure you." Taking his fingers from her hand, he smiled softly at her angry expression; obviously him reading her mind didn't suit her at all. Her look of anger subsided into confusion. If he had no magic than how had he got here?? She asked him as much. He laughed at her bluntness. "Sarah, Sarah, always right to the point." He sighed softly. Jareth moved slowly towards the glider swing. **

**Sarah noticed he was a bit sluggish. I guess no magic does that to a person she thought. He sat down and Sarah followed suit. She sat opposite him, she wasn't afraid of being magiked by him. Last time they had met you could almost smell the power coming off him, and now there was nothing, Sarah realized this was what had made her uneasy to begin with and the lack of glitter just help the tumblers fall into place. Even if he had his magic, he couldn't harm her, because he had no power over her. Sarah smirked at the thought. "Quite right dear Sarah, no power." He chuckled his voice sounding eerie in the night. She glared at him; she was tiring of his games. **

**"I thought I told you to keep your fingers out of my mind." She snapped, frustration oozing from her voice, fuming she continued "Why are you here Jareth? It's been almost five years since I played your game and beat it. So if you're here just to be witty and piss me off, I am going inside." Jareth could see that Sarah was clearly angry, so he decided to bite his tongue, and keep his glib remark to himself, he knew better than to test her limits. Rumbling deep in his chest with displeasure, he hated when things didn't go at his pace, Jareth decided he had better just come out with it. **

**"I wished myself away to you." He said. His voice was so low Sarah had to lean forward to catch his next words "I wished myself away to you, because in a few hours I will be dead."**


	4. The Reaction

**Sarah was at a loss for words, her mouth moved, but nothing came out. She looked like a fish gasping for air. Jareth shifted his position, clutching his right hand to his side protectively, as if something pained him. Noticing Sarah's efforts to speak, he sneered. The sneer finally snapped Sarah out of her shock. "How.." She stopped; smoothed her hands over her face and began again "How could you wish yourself away to me?" **

**"Quite easily actually." He stated as if any intelligent person would be able to figure it out " I may have no power over you, but the opposite is quite untrue." He finished and watched Sarah's reaction, his hand still clasped to his side. Sarah's eyes were big with confusion. **

**"I don't understand." she started only to be cut off.**

**"I have no power over you." He huffed, reminding Sarah greatly of an irritated owl, "But since you beat my Labyrinth you have some power over me. Therefore should I wish myself over to you, I would at once become your property." He regarded her with his mismatched eyes. She didn't look at him. She was to busy mulling over what he had told her, and that's when it hit her. HE WAS DYING. Dying meaning death was imminent. Dead meant gone forever, the reality of what he had said to her sunk in. Yet always where despair walks hope walks as well, she had a thought. It began to grow and blossom in her mind. Only to be crushed by Jareth's next word. "No." **

**"No?! Why not?" Sarah questioned slightly irritated at him reading her mind once again. Jareth gave her a rueful smile **

**"Because dear heart, I am already too far gone for healing and while you have some power over me, you are not skilled in the healing arts, nor are you able to give life." It was then that 20-year-old Sarah Williams felt tears sting her eyes. The same Sarah Williams that didn't cry at sappy movies, the same that Sarah Williams hadn't let the Labyrinth make her cry, the same Sarah Williams who found tears useless and stupid. It was this very same Sarah Williams that felt hot tears slide down her cheeks for a man she hardly knew. **

**"I'm so sorry Jareth, so sorry." she sobbed at him in the night, the repressed tears of all the things in her life that made her sad or afraid finally breaking through the dam she had built.**


	5. The Blade

**Jareth let her cry, only because no one had ever cried for him before. Who would cry for a King that snatched children away? No one that had wished them away, that was certain, oh they did cry, but only for themselves and their loss. Finally he could take no more, he didn't deserve pity. He reached forward and touched Sarah lightly, pulling his hand back sharply when he noticed he had left a splotch of blood oh her pale hand. **

**Sarah looked up, and then at the dark blotch on her hand. It was his blood. It really was true, he was going to die.**

**"Don't cry Sarah." Jareth said, all command leaving his voice, instead of commanding, he was almost pleading. **

**"Why are you here Jareth?" she asked, quickly whisking her hand across her face to wipe away her tears. "Why did you wish yourself away to me when I cannot SAVE you! You said so yourself. You should have stayed in the Underground, maybe they could have healed you there." Sarah took a deep breath, she had lost control of her voice, hopefully she hadn't woken any of the neighbors with her outburst. Jareth smiled softly. **

**"It was already too late. I was beyond all hope. The spelled blade I was stabbed with, did it's job too well, and the sorcerer who cast the spell of death upon the blade did his even better. By the time anyone had realized the blade was magiked to kill, I was already a walking corpse... The sorcerer had an uncanny knack for concealing his work." Jareth finished smartly as if he were commenting on a good joke. **

**"He concealed his spell of death on the sword, with another spell?" She asked trying to straighten everything out in her head, when he nodded she continued. "But why would he want to kill you, did you do something to him?" Jareth shook his head tiredly. **

**"As with your world Sarah, my world is full of creatures who do things for personal gain, or for the benefit of someone they are loyal to. I, like many people before me, was merely a pawn in an elaborate scheme." He spoke in a clear voice so that she would not misunderstand anything he told her. Sarah understood, it pained her to think how freely others could hand out death. Glancing at Jareth's torso, she could see where his hand grasped his side, and could faintly make out the tell tale smudges of blood spreading past the area that his hand concealed. With a sigh, she looked him in the eyes. **

**"Why did you come Jareth?" she asked again.**


	6. The Judgement

**She wasn't sure if he had heard her, he had closed his eyes, and seemed to be concentrating on his breathing, she noticed it had gotten heavier, strained. She was about to ask again, when his eyes snapped open, and they fixed themselves on her, burning brilliantly with their dying light. **

**"I have come," He announced as if addressing the royal court ," to ask for forgiveness. Forgiveness of crimes I am guilty of committing against you when you entered my Labyrinth." **

**"Crimes?" Sarah asked raising an eyebrow, unsure of what he meant, she searched his face, but nothing was reviled to her there. **

**"Yes, Crimes!" he reiterated "Crimes of cheating and of offering you your dreams. Yet more horrendous than the others, the horrible offer of false love, just to win, just to say I had _bested_ you, just to increase my ego. I love trickery Sarah, trickery in games mind you for I am of that nature, it runs in the blood of my people. But what I did, what I offered you was cruel, and for this I ask for forgiveness before I die." With that he fell silent. Sarah was shocked with his words, but she didn't respond right away, instead she took time to reflect back on everything that had happened to her in the Labyrinth, and the words that had been exchanged there. **

**After a few moments she spoke. "I never loved you Jareth, at least never in that way." **

**"As I never loved you." He said, his voice was kind, "I love your spirit Sarah, but I was never IN love with you." **

**Sarah nodded, happy they were both clear on that area, "You were everything I asked you to be, the dashing, attractive... _evil_ Goblin King. Had I been in your position I would have played the cards the exact same way. I was on your turf, Jareth, you got to set the rules, and if I remember correctly I didn't ask for any rules, and you didn't give me any. All you said was that I had thirteen hours in which to run the Labyrinth, to reach the castle, and that wasn't really a rule, now was it?? More like information, besides..." she was cut short. **

**"But your dreams Sarah! I offered you your dreams...I would have hated you, had you offered me mine!" he spat accusingly. **

**"I did hate you, for a while." she admitted, "I was angry, because I did what I knew what was right, saving Toby and all. But I hated even more how I had wanted to accept your offers, it's not everyday your dreams are set out before you, like a peach ready to be plucked. I knew I would be happy for awhile, but in then end the guilt of abandoning Toby would have eaten away at me like a worm eating fruit. So really Jareth, I cannot forgive you, instead I should be thanking you, because you made me realize what was really important to me." The instant she was finished, she could see the anger flare up in Jareth. He was angry, and had he had any magic, he would have made the winds howl and thunder strike. She was denying him the only thing he had ever craved. **

**"But I offered false love..." he whispered. Sarah just shook her head. "You would deny a dying man his last wish?" he roared, standing up sharply, only to lose his balance as the glider swing surged forward. Sarah stood and steadied the swing, grasping Jareth with one hand to steady him. **

**"Yes, I would deny you your wish, because there is no need for it. You do not need to feel bad about anything you've done." She looked him in the eye, and smiled grimly to herself.**


	7. The End of it All

**They were silent. He had accepted her reasoning, and was at peace, knowing she didn't hold anything against him. He was beginning to fade,he could feel his grip on his moment with Sarah slipping away. She could see it too, he was breathing shallower now, and she could see it in the way his eyes shone in the night. **

**"Do you want to come inside, maybe lie down?' she asked, wishing only to ease his passing.**

**"No. Just sit with me under the stars a moment longer love, it won't be long now." Jareth said his eyes closing briefly. Sarah grasped his hand and squeezed it, trying to offer him comfort. His eyes opened and flicked about frantically. "Sarah, I am afraid." He whispered to her in the night, "Truly afraid." Sarah brushed some hair from his face. **

**"Don't be afraid Jareth." she said as soothingly as she could, fighting back tears to appear brave for him. The light late night breeze was starting to pick up, it whisked some dead leaves across the yard in a flurry. **

**"Please Sarah, don't forget me! Don't let the Labyrinth become a faerie tale, don't let us be forgotten!" Jareth's voice was soft and serious, it blended with the wind, and his eyes searched for hope. **

**"I will never forget you Jareth." Sarah said. He smiled and nodded his regal head once, before closing his eyes. Sarah once again brushed hair from his face, that the now unruly wind had tossed there, and laid a soft kiss on his forehead as her jacket whipped in the wind. She smoothed his hair back once again, and then he simply faded away, his form on the swing beside her sparkling before being whisked away in a rush of glitter by the wind. **

**It was quite awhile that Sarah sat alone in the night, letting the now soft breeze tickle her face. When she did stand to leave, she let her hand rest for a moment on the spot where Jareth had sat. Turning she whispered to the breeze, "I will never forget you Jareth, my King of the Goblins."**


	8. Authors Comments

**First and foremost I would like to thank you the reader for taking the time to read my story, because without a reader a writer is nothing. I would like to say a few things about this piece of work and things relating to it. First this is my very first time writing any kind of Labyrinth type fan fiction, and I must say I enjoyed the experience. I've been a great lover of the movie, ever since I can remember. It's the one of the first movies I can recall ever having seen as a child. I'm not sure what it was that made me fall in love with the film, perhaps it was the creatures, the characters but mainly I think it was the idea of something as fantastical as the Underground existing. **

**Some of you may not like that Sarah and Jareth do not love each other in this fic,or rather that they do not love each other in that way. They more or less have a respect for eachother. I came upon this idea after reading many a fanfics where they _do_ love each other, and where they _do_ get together and live happily after ever. And while this is all well and good and** **I do love** **reading these fanfics (I'm a hard core Jareth and Sarah Shipper!!) , I wondered if it always had to be that way? Did the Goblin King always have to be out for revenge because Sarah denied him?, Did Sarah always have to wish herself away to him again, or have herself wished away? And does Jareth, as much as we love him, does he always have to live? I know, I know, Jareth dying...or worse dead, a horrible thing to think about. But that is why we have Fanfiction, a way to explore what happens next, be it good or bad.**

**I came upon this idea after watching the movie (for the billionth time). I wondered what would happen if Jareth was dying, and felt bad for the way things had went down in the Labyrinth. I choose to have Jareth die, because even though he is magical and all ,that he just like all things must have their end. It was just and idea that I had, and the urge to share it with others was incredible, so after weeks of writing and months of gathering ideas, here we have the finished product. ( I know pretty short for all that time...but I let my ideas stew for ages before putting them down) I must say that I am please with how it has turned out. As always constructive criticism is always welcome...if you have a beef with my story back it up, don't just flame. I hope you had as much fun reading my story as I did creating it.**

**Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my story, **

**Love Kirby**


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